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Historical Sermon 

Delivered at Ware First Parish, 

ON 

Thanksgiving Day, Dec. 2d, 1830, 

By AUGUSTUS B. REED, 

Pastor of the First Congregational Churcli 
in Ware, Mass., 

AND NOW FIRST PRINTED. 



1889. 



Historical Sermon 



Delivered at Ware First Parish, 



Thanksgiving Day, Dec. 2d, 1830, 

By AUGUSTUS B. REED, 

Pastor 'of the First Congregational Cliurcli 
in Ware, Mass., 

AND NOW FIRST PRINTED. 



1889. 



fn 

. (V277f3 



50 copies printed for J. H. G. Gilbert. 
No. 

-2. 5- .? e // 

/7 



"With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two 
hands."— /acod. 

"O, ^ve thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name; make known 
His deeds among the people." — Psa/m cv., i. 



God has revealed himself as the Creator and Su- 
preme Governor of the virorld. He has taught us that 
His Providence is particular and universal. Of Him 
and through Him and to Him are all things. A 
sparrow shall not fall on the ground without your 
Father. The very hairs of your head are all num- 
bered. We are, therefore, to look upon all the events 
that transpire under His holy government as that 
which He has wrought, either by His own immediate 
agency, or by the instrumentality of His creatures. 
It would be delightful on an occasion like the present 
to contemplate the Lord of the whole earth as having 
from the beginning pervaded immensity, moving for- 



ward all His vast designs in the plenitude of His 
strength and wisdom. And to this the text, taken in 
its natural sense, would lead us. But it appears, from 
the connection in which it stands, that the primary 
object of the Psalmist, in the passage before us, was 
to call the attention of the Israelites to the Provi- 
dence of God towards them in particular, from the 
call of Abraham to their settlement in the land of 
Canaan. 

God had raised them from a single family to a 
great and prosperous people. The pious Psalmist 
wished, therefore, to lead them to a grateful and 
prayerful remembrance of the particular blessing 
they had received. This is, indeed, a duty incumbent 
on every community. It becomes us no less than it 
did the Israelites to mark well the Providences in 
which God has been pleased to pass before us. 

Permit me, then, my beloved people, to call your 
attention to-day to the operations of the divine hand 
in this town. With a design to lead you to consider 
what God has wrought, and by this means to excite 
within you a spirit of thanksgiving and prayer, I 
shall, in this discourse, give a brief history of this 
town, from its settlement to the present time. 

The principal part of Ware, a territory of ten thou- 
sand acres, it is said was originally granted to a 
company from Narragansett as a reward for their 
expelling the Indians from this section of country. 



This company, it appears, did not consider the land 
granted to them by government as worthy of much 
attention, as they soon after sold it to John Reed, 
Esq., of Boston, for two coppers an acre. This pro- 
prietor let a great part of it, for a number of years, to 
such persons as were disposed to hire rough, unculti- 
vated country. The tenants were in the habit of 
burning over the land annually, to prepare it for the 
large herds of cattle which they were accustomed to 
receive every Summer from the more easterly part of 
the colony. 

This practice greatly injured the soil and retarded 
very considerably the settlement of the territory. 
The number of families, however, gradually increased 
and many of them soon became owners of the soil. 
On the 26th of Ma}^ 1742, a petition was drafted and 
signed by John Reed, of Boston, and by Thomas 
Marsh and twenty-nine others, inhabitants of this 
territory, to be presented to the General Court, pray- 
ing that the land described in the petition, which was 
nearly the same as that now included in the limits 
of the town, should be incorporated into a distinct 
township, or into a parish, that they might "lawfully 
erect and maintain the public worship of God among 
them." This petition was read in court on the 2d of 
June in the same year and recommitted. The mem- 
bers of this committee were directed to examine the 
subject and report as soon as practicable. After visit- 



ing the district and inquiring into the circumstances 
of the case, the committee reported as their opinion 
that the petitioners were not sufficient to be incor- 
porated as a town, but were further of opinion that 
the inhabitants of the territory described ought to be 
freed from all taxes to any other place or town, dur- 
ing the pleasure of the General Court, so that they 
might be able to provide preaching among them- 
selves. This report was read in court and accepted, 
on the 4th of December following, " whereupon it was 
ordered that the lands within the limits described 
and the inhabitants therein be erected into a precinct, 
and that the said inhabitants have the powers and 
privileges which other precincts do, or by law ought 
to enjoy, that they be and are hereby obliged to 
maintain the public worship of God among them, in 
the support of a learned and orthodox minister." 

This Act received the concurrence of the House of 
Representatives, and was consented to by the Gov- 
ernor on the 7th of the same month, so that the 
district then became a regularly incorporated pre- 
cinct. The first precinct meeting was held on the 
15th of March, 1743. The object was to choose the 
necessary precinct officers, to raise money to defray 
the expenses of their incorporation and to support 
the preaching of the gospel. For this last purpose 
they raised forty pounds. Thus, we have the satisfac- 
tion of knowing that the first settlers of this town 
made it their first object to establish and maintain 



religious order. Jacob Cummings was the first mod- 
erator and he, in connection with Edward Ayres and 
Joseph Simons, constituted the first precinct com- 
mittee. On the 28th of the next month a warrant for 
a meeting was issued in which the precinct was de- 
nominated Ware River Precinct, a name by which it 
was afterwards known until it was incorporated into 
a town. At this meeting it was voted to hire a Mr. 
Dickenson to preach until the money granted should 
be expended. In March, 1744, the sum of sixty 
pounds was raised for the support of the gospel, and 
in the course of that year three different persons 
were employed in this place. The names of these 
gentlemen were Mills, Ravvson and Howe. In the 
year 1745 Mr. Henry Carey was employed to preach 
to the inhabitants of the precinct. In November 
they gave him an invitation to settle with them as 
their minister, but he declined accepting it. After 
several unsuccessful attempts in preceding years, the 
precinct proceeded, in 1750, to erect a house of wor- 
ship of God, which they placed a few rods south of 
the centre of the town. 

The house then erected was thirty-five feet by 
twenty-five feet, with fifteen feet posts. It was used 
until the year 1800, when this commodious house in 
which we now worship was erected and dedicated to 
God. In November, 1750, the precinct invited Mr. 
Grindal Ravvson to settle with them as their minister. 
He accepted their invitation and was ordained on the 



9th of May, T751. The council called on this occasion 
gathered and organized the church on the day of the 
ordination. Of how many members the church origin- 
ally consisted is not known. It must, however, have been 
"but small as it appears that the whole number of mem- 
bers which had been admitted at the time of Mr. 
Rawson's dismission, which took place January iptli, 
1754, was only 43. Some of them became members 
by profession and some by letter of recommendation 
from other churches. Rev. Mr. Rawson, the first 
pastor of this church, it is supposed, was a native of 
Hadlyme, Conn. But little is known of him in this 
place. Traditional accounts represent him as a man 
of little seriousness, comeliness or refinement. The 
only relic of his labors I have seen is his answer to 
the call of the precinct. This, on the whole, mani- 
fests a very undue concern about worldly things, and 
yet some expressions in it seem to intimate that his 
sentiments were evangelical. For a time (several 
years) after his dismission very little interest was 
taken in the institutions of the gospel. The house of 
God laid waste ; the ways of Zion mourned ; the 
people were as sheep scattered upon the mountains, 
while vice and irreligion prevailed among them. 
They continued in this destitute state about four 
years. The great Head of the church then awakened 
them to feel their need of a spiritual guide. In the 
Autumn of 1758 the church and precinct called Mr. 
Ezra Thayer to become their pastor and minister in the 



Lord. He accepted their call and was ordained on 
the loth of January, 1759. It appears that until this 
time the church had been destitute of a confession of 
faith. The ordaining council, therefore, very prop- 
erly presented one which was unanimously adopted 
by the church and pastor elect. What sentiments 
were contained in this confession I am unable to 
state. Although the prospects of the church were 
brightened by the settlement of a pastor, there was 
still in it a lamentable degree of laxity. The half- 
way covenant was soon adopted, and thus the 
church became amalgamated with the world. In the 
course of the Rev. Mr. Thayer's ministry, which con- 
tinued about sixteen years, seventy-nine members 
were received as members of the church, in full com- 
munion. Four was the greatest number received at 
any one time. The Rev. Mr. Thayer was a native of 
Mendon and was graduated at Harvard College in 
1756. He is said to have been a man of placid, ac- 
commodating turn and to have possessed, in a high 
degree, the affections and confidence of his people. 
He died, February nth, 1775, aged 43. After his 
death the inhabitants of the town, to manifest their 
affectionate regard for their deceased pastor, paid 
the expenses of his funeral and erected the monu- 
ment that marks the place where his ashes slumber. 
Early in the year 1762 the precinct was incorporated 
into a town. The first town meeting was holdenon the 
9th of March, at which Samuel Sherman, William 
Brakenridge and John Davis were chosen selectmen. 



SCHOOLS. 

At a meeting held on the nth of the same month, 
the town was divided into four school districts, and 
twelve pounds were raised for the support of schools. 
This money was equally divided between the districts 
and the people of each district were required to ex- 
pend their proportion within the limits of the year, 
on penalty of forfeiting their claim. From that time 
a small sum was raised annually for the support of 
schools, and houses, soon after, were erected for their 
accommodation. There are now ten districts, and, 
for several years past, seven hundred and twenty- 
five dollars have been raised annually to promote 
the interests of education. In the village two pub- 
lic schools are taught through the year. There is 
besides these an infant school. In the center dis- 
trict a school is kept about nine months in the 
year. Between six and seven hundred children are 
instructed in the several schools in the Winter sea- 
sons. In 1780 the town gave Mr. Winslow Packard 
an invitation to settle there in the ministry, which he 
did not accept. It was renewed the following year 
but was a second time rejected. In 1785 an unsuc- 
cessful attempt was made to settle Mr. Jeremiah Hal- 
lock. While that man of God was preaching in this 
place an interesting revival of religion was enjoyed. 
A few sentences from his diary will at once give 
some idea of his devotedness and the extent of this 



work. On the first Sabbath that he spent in Ware, 
he thus writes : ''Oct. 17th, Sabbath. Spent some 
"time in meditation and prayer this morning. The 
"people were very attentive. O, may I never forget 
"the mercies of the Lord. Had a very full and atten- 
"tive conference this evening. Had freedom in dis- 
" course, and so had others. Some appearance of an 
"awakening. O, may it come on ! O, may it come 
"on ! Nov. 7th : A remarkable meeting this even- 
"ing. Some suppose there were three hundred per- 
" sons present ; was enabled to preach with freedom to 
*'the most affected auditory I ever saw. Feb. ist : 
"Visited my pleasant grove and took my farewell of 
" Ware. I have been there twelve Sabbaths. When I 
"came the young people Avere light and gay. But it 
" has pleased God to awaken them, so that their frolics 
"are turned into conferences, and to God's name be all 
" the glory. There are about twelve hopeful converts." 
This was the first season of refreshing from the Lord 
enjoyed in this place. About this time and probably 
as a consequence of the eminently pious influence of 
Mr. Hallock, the town voted to adopt Doct. Watts' 
Psalms and Hymns, to be sung in the public congre- 
gation. In the Summer of the same year Mr. Benja- 
min Judd was invited to settle here as a minister of 
the Cross. He accepted the invitation and was or- 
dained on the 1 2th of October. The people were not 
united in calling Mr. Judd to settle with them. Un- 
happily, difficulties soon arose between the dissenting 



party and their pastor, which terminated in his dis- 
mission, on the 28th of September, 1787. In the 
course of his ministry three persons were added to 
the church. After his dismission, the town was des- 
titute of a settled minister for nearly five years, in 
which time the church received an addition of twelve 
members. In March, 1792, the church and town 
unanimously gave Mr. Reuben Moss an invitation to 
settle with them as their pastor and minister in the 
Lord. He accepted their invitation and the solemni- 
ties of the ordination were attended on the 21st of 
June. After the settlement of the Rev. Reuben Moss, 
the church revised their confession of faith. In 
the revised form it corresponded very exactly in 
substance with the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, 
and referred to that as containing a very accurate 
and useful exposition of the doctrines, ordinances 
and duties of the Christian religion. This was used 
until May, 1827, when a confession of faith and cove- 
nant, drawn up by a committee of the Brookfield 
association and adopted by most of the churches in 
their connection, was unanimously adopted by this 
church as a substitute for that which had been 
before used. The leading sentiments in each are the 
same, though the latter is thought to be the most hap- 
pily expressed. The Rev. Mr. Moss was a native of 
Cheshire and was graduated at Yale College in 1787. 
He pursued his professional studies under the care 
of the Rev. Dr. Trumbull, of New Haven, Conn. He 



13 

continued in the ministry in this place until he rested 
from his labors, a period of about sixteen years and 
seven months. During this time he had the satisfac- 
tion of seeing fifty persons added to the church, 
forty-two by profession and eight by recommenda- 
tions from other churches. He was a man of ardent 
piety, of refined feelings, and was somewhat distin- 
guished as a biblical scholar. As a preacher he was 
plain and practical and enforced his instructions by 
a blameless example. Many will long remember him 
as the faithful and affectionate friend of the young. 
In his labors for this class of the community he was 
indefatigable. He was remarkably particular and 
felicitous in attention to the district schools. Though 
at the time of his settlement the schools were in a 
very low and disordered state, they very soon became 
very much improved through his attention and influ- 
ence. By his effort in this department of his labors, 
he was instrumental in preparing a large number of 
young men to engage in the instruction of schools in 
this town and vicinity. By this means he greatly 
raised the tone of moral feeling and the standard of 
education among his people. Twice in his ministry 
he was afflicted with severe turns of derangement. 
He died, deeply lamented, on the 17th of February, 
1809, in the fiftieth year of his age. "The memory 
of the just is blessed." Soon after the death of the 
Rev. Mr. Moss, Mr. Samuel Ware was invited to 
preach in this place and was ordained on the 31st of 



October, 1810. He was abundantly blessed in liis 
labors. In the course of his ministry, which con- 
tinued something more than fifteen years, three ex- 
tensive revivals of religion were enjoyed and one 
hundred and ninety-seven members were added to 
the church, one hundred and seventy-seven of whom 
were by profession ; the first of these revivals was in 
i8i2, the second in 1815 and the third in 1818. In 
1826 Mr. Ware's health became so poor and his con- 
stitution so much impaired as to render it necessary 
that he should recede from his labors in the ministry; 
accordingly, in April of that year, he made a commu- 
nication to the church and society to this effect, in 
which communication he proposed to close his labors 
by the first of May and to take a dismission at the 
same time that a minister should be ordained as his 
successor, and by the council that should be called 
on that occasion. This proposal was acceded to by 
the church and society. Perhaps there is no way in 
which the feelings exercised by the people towards 
him can be more properly stated than by giving the 
language in which they have cordially expressed them 
in the following vote, passed and recorded, July 3d, 
1826 : 

" Voted, unanimously, that we cordially recommend 
the Rev. Samuel Ware as an exemplary Christian 
and an able and judicious and faithful minister of 
the gospel." 



IS 

Few clergymen have retained more perfectly, for a 
course of years, the confidence and affection of their 
people. The present pastor, the Rev. Augustus B. 
Reed, was born, November 19th, 1798, at Rehoboth, 
and was graduated at Brown University in 182 1. He 
came to this town, at the request of the committee 
for supplying the pulpit, on the 6th day of May, 1826, 
and preached his first sermon to this people on the 
next Sabbath, the Rev, Mr. Ware receding from his 
labors. On the 19th of June the church and society 
unanimously invited him to become their pastor. He 
was solemnly consecrated as the minister of this 
people on the 19th of July. In September following 
it became manifest that there was an unusual degree 
of seriousness on the minds of the people generally, 
and especially on the minds of the young. Many of 
the church were brought faithfully to examine them- 
selves and to exercise a spirit of deep humility and 
earnest prayer. Seasons were observed for fastings 
and supplications. The Holy Spirit descended and 
the place appeared filled with the Divine presence. 
The revival continued, without much abatement of 
interest, through the succeeding Winter. Many, it is 
believed, will remember through eternity, with de- 
vout gratitude, the earnests of heaven which were 
there enjoyed. Between seventy and eighty were 
numbered as the fruits of this revival, sixty-one of 
whom became connected with the church in the 
course of the year. The whole number added to the 



i6 

church since the settlement of the present pastor are 
seventy-five, seventy of whom were added by pro- 
fession. 

The whole number of members since the organiza- 
tion of the church, is 475, a majority of whom have 
closed their pilgrimage and gone to give an account 
of their stewardship. The whole number of members 
at this time is 188, of whom 62 are males and 126 
females. The number of baptisms that have been 
administered since the church was formed is 1,022. 

The deacons have been as follows : 

Jacob Cummings, chosen 175 1 ; died Feb. 27th, 
1776. 

John Davis, chosen 1751. 

Maverick Smith, chosen January 14th, 1768; died 
Sept. nth, 1789. 

Thomas Jenkins, chosen March 21st, 1768 ; died 
March 24th, 1792, aged 81. 

William Paige, chosen Sept, 30th, 17S9 ; died Jan. 
23d, 1826. 

Daniel Gould, chosen Sept. 30th, 1789, 

Joseph Cummings, chosen May nth, 1815 ; dis- 
missed and recommended to the East Evangelical 
Church May 7th, 1826. 

Eli Snow, chosen May nth, 1815. 

Warner Brown, May nth, 1826 ; deposed and sus- 
pended April 8th, 1830. 

Enos Davis, chosen June 27th, 1830. 



17 

During the last forty years the church in Ware 
has been signally blessed with the Divine pres- 
ence, and has been distinguished for its firm ad- 
herence to " the faith once delivered to the saints." 
From the first settlement of the town to the present 
time the inhabitants generally have been of one relig- 
ious denomination, and until 1825 met together in 
one place for the worship of God. At that time the 
population had increased to about 2,000. In con- 
sequence of the enterprising and flourishing manu- 
factories erected in the east part of the town, a vil- 
lage had there sprung up as by enchantment, and 
then contained about one-half of the whole popula- 
tion of the town. It was, therefore, found necessary 
that a religious society should be formed in that sec- 
tion and that public worship should be there main- 
tained for the accommodation and benefit of the in- 
habitants of the village. A society was accordingly 
formed, and in April, 1826, a Congregational church 
was organized, denominated the East Evangelical 
Church in Ware. In May of the same year the Rev. 
Parsons Cook was ordained as pastor of the church. 
He was born at Hadley, and graduated at Williams 
College in 1822. They have since been blessed with 
two extensive and powerful revivals of religion, the 
fruits of which are manifest in the rapid growth of 
the church. That church at the last annual report 
contained 183 members. A spacious and beautiful 
house for the worship of God was dedicated on the 



i8 



24th of January, 1S27. In January, 1829, the east 
section, in accordance with the unanimous vote of the 
town, was incorporated a distinct parish. The divi- 
sion of the town into two churches and parishes took 
place, not in consequence of any division of feeling, 
but because it was necessary, in order that the spirit- 
ual interests of the town might be most effectually 
promoted. Tlie most friendly intercourse has been 
maintained from the beginning between the two 
churches and parishes. The town, from its first 
settlement, has been one of the most healthy portions 
of New England, What number of deaths have oc- 
curred since its first settlement it is not possible now to 
ascertain. The number of deaths in this religious 
society since my settlement is fifty-six. The average age 
of those who died in the last two years is forty-eight 
years eight months. The average age of those who 
died during the first two years of my ministry 
was twenty-nine years. In this connection it is worthy 
of remark that in January, 1826, a temperance asso- 
ciation was formed here which now contains about 
160 members. In this not an instance of mortality 
has occurred since its formation. Nor has there been 
any sickness that may not be traced to some extraordi- 
nary cause. We doubt not that posterity will put the 
question concerning the members of this association : 
" Our fathers, where are they ? " Yet it is undeniable 
that these facts very strikingly show the tendency of 
temperance to preserve life and health. Many of the 



19 

people of this town have taken a deep and glowing 
interest in the great objects of Christian enterprise 
with which the present age is distinguished. There 
is scarcely any object of this class but what has been 
aided more or less by their beneficence. In addition 
to the contributions of this church, we trust that Zion 
will be aided by the labors of her sons. Four young 
men, William P. Davis, John Dunbar, Jr., P. 
Washburn and Isaac Wetherell, who have made 
profession of their faith, are now pursuing their 
classical studies with reference to the Chris- 
tian ministry. May the members of this branch 
of Zion increase their benefactions until the 
watchman taught of God shall " speak comfortably 
to Jerusalem," and say unto her " that her warfare is 
accomplished." I have now, my dear people, made 
known to you the deeds of the Lord, the work which 
God has here wrought. 

Do we not in the retrospect fmd abundant occa- 
sion to give thanks unto His name ? 

We have seen that He preserved our fathers while 
in the depths of poverty and in the perils of the wil- 
derness. He early led them to His courts, and He has 
caused the several generations which have here fol- 
lowed each other in rapid succession, to enjoy the 
blessings of the sanctuary. The hills and dales that 
formerly presented but a wilderness He has rendered 
fertile and productive, and a small and sparse popu- 
lation He has increased to thousands. The town 



which was formerly proverbial for its poverty He has 
made now to possess a comfortable share of wealth, 
and to become one that is, on the whole, second to but 
few in this section of the Commonwealth, and what 
is more, He has given incontestable proof in His 
providence that He has engraven this portion of His 
Zion on the palms of His hands, and that her walls 
are continually before Him. He has sent down His 
Spirit here abundantly to call in His elect, and to 
prepare them for the glorious inheritance unto which 
they were appointed in the eternal councils of His 
will. " O, give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon His 
name ; make known His deeds among the people." 
"Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye 
of all His wondrous works." " O, praise God in 
His sanctuary, praise Him in the firmament of His 
power, praise Him for His mighty acts, praise Him 
according to His excellent greatness. Let every- 
thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise 
ye the Lord." Further, while the retrospect which 
we have taken is calculated to excite within us 
gratitude to God, does it not also present to our minds 
weighty reasons why we should call upon His name ? 
We have seen that generation after generation has 
gone down to the grave, and but little more is known 
of their history, than that they once lived and are 
dead. In this we see, as in a glass, our own nothing- 
ness and mortality. "Surely all flesh is as grass, and 
all the goodness thereof as the flower of the field." 



Who is the man that can cast his eye over the ages 
that are past and have swept millions to the tomb 
and not feel his entire dependence? Where is the man 
that can take this retrospect of time and not so feel 
his need of Divine presence and support as will ex- 
cite him to call upon the name of the Lord ? The 
view which we have here taken of the Providence of 
God in this place, not only reminds us of our need of 
the blessing of God, but also affords much encour- 
agement to prayer. He has indeed been the God of 
our fathers, and even in our own day has He not veri- 
fied the declaration, " Before they call I will answer, 
and while they are yet speaking, I will hear ?" Be 
exhorted then to call upon His name, to plead with 
Him for His name's sake, to remember this part of 
His heritage, and build it up forever. While you ap- 
pear before Him be not satisfied with the cold and 
heartless form of worship, but let your supplications 
be fervent and spiritual, and let them be offered in 
that lively faith which lays hold of the horns of the 
heavenly altar. Then may we trust that in answer 
to your prayers the blessing of God will descend yet 
more powerfully, and unborn generations will see 
greater things than these. 



JUN 3 19t8 



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